Indian hockey

The magnificent trophy tour kicked off on December 5 with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presenting the trophy to Hockey India President and Padma Dr Dilip Tirkey in Bhubaneswar. The trophy travelled across 13 states and one Union Territory, including the national capital, New Delhi, over the last three weeks.

The tournament, which is set to begin on January 13, 2023, will see 16 elite hockey teams from around the world in action. Eager to witness the thrilling world hockey action taking place in Rourkela for the first time, the fans gathered in large numbers outside the newly constructed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium since the opening of the Box Office on December 19 to buy tickets.

India are in Group D with England, Spain and Wales in the 16-team competition that will be held from January 13 to 29, 2023.

The Savita-led Indian team began their campaign with a dominant 3-1 win over Chile, then defeated Japan 2-1 before defeating South Africa 2-0 in their third Pool B match to top the group with nine points and secure their place in the semi final. The FIH Women's Nations Cup 2022 is an important fixture in the international calendar as it brings in a system of promotion-relegation, with the Champions being promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Women's Pro League.

In their previous two matches, India defeated Chile 3-1 and Japan 2-1, respectively. With three straight wins, India is placed on top of pool B with nine points and will play the semifinal against Ireland. In pool A, hosts Spain lead the points table after two wins and a draw.

India had started their campaign to get promoted to the FIH Pro League next season by defeating Chile 3-1 In their opening match on Sunday. With two back-to-back wins, India are placed on top of Pool B with six points while in Pool A, hosts Spain lead the points table after two successive wins.

Al Hilm, which translates as "The Dream" in Arabic, follows on from the Official Match Ball of the group stages, Al Rihla, which translates as "The Journey". Both balls feature the same technology, engineered to support the highest game speeds as they travel faster in flight than any other World Cup ball.

Sangita Kumari (3'), Sonika (11') and Navneet Kaur (32') scored the goals for India while Fernanda Villagran (44') scored Chile's lone goal. India is hoping to win the title as the winner will be promoted to the next season of the FIH Pro League. The ace goalkeeper Savita-led Indian women's hockey team got off the blocks to a fine start in the first quarter, making their intent on their opponents very clear.

The five-match series, a crucial one in preparation for the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, to be held in January, helped the Indians not only register their first victory against Australia in six years but also found themselves scoring four goals each in four of the five games.

Australia came up with a clinical performance to outclass India 5-1 in the fourth match of the tour at the Mate Stadium, here. With this victory, Australia sealed the five-match series 3-1, with one more match to be played. Jeremy Hayward (29', 41') scored a brace for the home team while Jake Whetton (30'), Tom Wickham (34') and Matt Dawson (54') were the other goal-scorers.